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ozza posted:I was pleasantly surprised to reach the end of this story without seeing a tenuous reference to "rising right-wing nationalism" in Japan, or "hawkish Prime Minister Abe". If we're generally discussing pet peeves when it comes to non-Japanese reportage of Japanese news, my ichi-ban is the tendency to ascribe one-off incidences of racism / discrimination to (fictional) transitions in broader social phenomena. By this I don't mean that there aren't racist groups in Japan, only that I can't see any evidence of a trend towards this racism becoming any more popular than it has been in the past. mystes fucked around with this message at 17:43 on May 12, 2014 |
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May 12, 2014 17:40
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Has anyone been following this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBBx4QsG90U In this long-running manga, they've been talking about the Fukushima disaster, and among other things proposing that there have been negative health effects that run contrary to the official line. Honestly, I don't know what to think, and I don't know who to trust for information about that. It seems silly to trust a manga over the officials, but they've done plenty of lying about already, so who knows.
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May 13, 2014 05:07
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Samurai Sanders posted:Has anyone been following this? I've followed it since it's been in the news, but I'm not familiar with the manga. It's a tough situation because you have entrenched interests on both sides that are willing to lie or obfuscate in order to promote their own goals. Neither should be trusted. Ideally, the reports from outside observers and scientists should be checked to see if they corroborate official statements from politicians and activists. The scientists in that news report all seemed to think it was pretty nutty, and that jives with other scientific stuff I've read online in English too. It seems like the Japanese really don't trust their government on this issue, and it's very easy to see why considering things that went on during this disaster and also past disasters. They've seen the way politicians have abused science and numbers, and this has had the impact of many of them being distrustful of all numbers and all science. They now take a lot of their own anti-nuclear assumptions as true based on faith, and the more extremist among them have turned to conspiracy theories. From that news report, it seems like the manga is exaggerating quite a bit in order to make the political point. It's not surprising considering the artist/activist communities are very receptive to anything that's anti-nuclear. There's still anti-nuclear demonstrations going on in a lot of places. Anti-nuclear has now become the politically correct position, and so for a lot of people that means there's no need to pay attention to the science. edit: This is not to say that I blame them for it. At this point, I'm not sure I would trust a Japanese corporation or the Japanese government to handle a nuclear power plant safely. There does not seem to be a culture of responsibility. ErIog fucked around with this message at 06:06 on May 13, 2014 |
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May 13, 2014 05:50
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Also, does Japan refer to people irradiated by things other than bombs as "hibakusha" as well?
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May 13, 2014 06:02
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Samurai Sanders posted:Also, does Japan refer to people irradiated by things other than bombs as "hibakusha" as well? Yeah. It's a little weird, but it can refer to any type of radiation exposure.
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May 13, 2014 06:05
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ErIog posted:Yeah. It's a little weird, but it can refer to any type of radiation exposure.
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May 13, 2014 06:47
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Samurai Sanders posted:Do both sides use that, or only anti-nuclear people because of the connotations of the bomb? Or to say it another way, is it a way to identify who is on which side? I believe it's a legitimate way to refer to it as a single word. The tricky thing is that being bombed and being exposed to radiation are actually slightly different kanji. 被爆 = hibaku = (atomic) bombing 被曝 = hibaku = radiation exposure It's literally just a few strokes different. Due to the nature of the history of radiation exposure in Japan, I don't believe that's an accident. 曝, in "radiation exposure" is a non-general-use kanji, and so it usually appears in hiragana instead of in kanji. The one for being bombed, though, is a general use kanji. So you would see it as a normal 2 character compound. In that manga they write it out as 被ばく. So if they were wanting to phrase it as "being bombed" then they would have written both parts of the word in kanji. The fact that they used hiragana for the second part means they were referring to the version that contains the non-general-use kanji, the one that legitimately means "exposed to radiation." You probably know this already, but for other people. The word you originally asked about, "hibakusha (被爆者・被曝者)" would be "radiation victims" or "bombing victims" depending on the way it's written. ErIog fucked around with this message at 07:02 on May 13, 2014 |
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May 13, 2014 06:58
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Samurai Sanders posted:Has anyone been following this? It's a difficult subject for me. I am for nuclear energy, but I don't feel like I have any right to talk about the subject with a native Japanese person because I don't think my opinions are more valid than their experiences. On the other hand, overvaluing people's experience over fact can be dangerous, like with anti-vaccination groups. Not to mention that people just don't listen anyway. No one believes me when I tell them nuclear energy isn't just plutonium.
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May 13, 2014 07:01
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NeilPerry posted:It's a difficult subject for me. I am for nuclear energy, but I don't feel like I have any right to talk about the subject with a native Japanese person because I don't think my opinions are more valid than their experiences. On the other hand, overvaluing people's experience over fact can be dangerous, like with anti-vaccination groups. Why not? I live forty minutes away from TMI (and grew up even closer) does that mean that I have even more right to speak than someone from, say, Hokkaido who never had to deal with a nuclear incident?
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May 13, 2014 07:07
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Monty Lemonty posted:http://www.47news.jp/47topics/e/253258.php 選挙権年齢が「宿題」に 国民投票法改正、今国会中に成立へ (Kyodo News Service) This seems like a half-step toward making the process to amend the constitution easier since amending the constitution requires a national referendum. So they think if they can create more eligible voters for the referendum then it might be easier for national referendums to pass. It's a pretty naked political move, though, since they specifically aren't advocating for a change in the age of majority. If I was an 18 year old I would be kind of pissed that they want my opinion enough to be a pawn for their plans to amend the constitution, but not enough to include me in the process of whether or not the people advocating these policies stay in office. The appetite for politics among young people is nonexistent, though. That could change if the unemployment numbers for recent college graduates continue to be bad, but we'll have to see. It sounds really innocuous and pro-democratic on paper, and also sounds, politically, like the perfect to start to an incremental approach toward changing the constitution. Article 96 only requires a 2/3 vote in the Diet and then a simple majority for the national referendum. Even taking the incremental approach, the Japanese constitution could be amended drastically very quickly if the political will was there to do so. Cliff Racer posted:Why not? I live forty minutes away from TMI (and grew up even closer) does that mean that I have even more right to speak than someone from, say, Hokkaido who never had to deal with a nuclear incident? The difference, I think, is in the structure of bureaucracy. Even if you and I know that, in the right hands, nuclear power is safer than things like coal, you still have to trust that it's in the right hands. I could spend a lot of time convincing someone on the science, but with that comes the unavoidable perception that I am advocating for nuclear power to be used in Japan. Even though I know it's safer, I am still not sure I trust the bureaucracy. The government and corporate bureaucracies are something that Japanese people most likely will have a better sense of even if they are ignorant of the science. ErIog fucked around with this message at 07:25 on May 13, 2014 |
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May 13, 2014 07:13
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Cliff Racer posted:Why not? I live forty minutes away from TMI (and grew up even closer) does that mean that I have even more right to speak than someone from, say, Hokkaido who never had to deal with a nuclear incident? The trauma people in the region experienced is very real whether or not they were ever in any danger. I'm not saying it's definitively taboo, just that I can't bring myself to do it. It reminds me of that Radiolab episode about that bombing in Vietnam.
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May 13, 2014 07:28
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Samurai Sanders posted:Has anyone been following this? Paraphrasing from my wife, who was an Oishinbo fan until it "went to poo poo", the mangaka here has lived in Australia for decades and is totally disconnected from modern Japan (lots of stuff about Australian foods/great Australian chefs/Australian gourmet restaurants apparently) and the general belief is that this is him rabble-raising to boost sales of the latest volume.
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May 13, 2014 11:23
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ErIog posted:This seems like a half-step toward making the process to amend the constitution easier since amending the constitution requires a national referendum. So they think if they can create more eligible voters for the referendum then it might be easier for national referendums to pass. It's a pretty naked political move, though, since they specifically aren't advocating for a change in the age of majority. Yeah, that was my immediate thought as well -- ease people into the concept of changing the constitution and then BOOM right of collective self-defense.
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May 13, 2014 15:05
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ErIog posted:This seems like a half-step toward making the process to amend the constitution easier since amending the constitution requires a national referendum. So they think if they can create more eligible voters for the referendum then it might be easier for national referendums to pass. It's a pretty naked political move, though, since they specifically aren't advocating for a change in the age of majority.
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May 14, 2014 01:59
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Japan's Seriously check these wages: 
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May 14, 2014 15:03
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Monty Lemonty posted:Yeah, that was my immediate thought as well -- ease people into the concept of changing the constitution and then BOOM right of collective self-defense. I think the revisionist in Abe is far more damaging to the regional stability in comparison - not saying that the chinese leaders are blameless in the slightest, it's just that the Abe administration is feeding them ultra prime grade AAA ammunition for propaganda every time one of his appointees goes "nanking massacre never happened!" or whatever. Sheep posted:Japan's This is super awful though. I've read about it before, an article about chinese workers who entered this program and didn't even receive the meager sub-poverty wages they were promised. Of course in the end they were simply deported and never received the wages.
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May 14, 2014 15:10
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Zo posted:This is super awful though. I've read about it before, an article about chinese workers who entered this program and didn't even receive the meager sub-poverty wages they were promised. Of course in the end they were simply deported and never received the wages. This is exactly what happened to the (few) "worker trainees" I have spoken with as well. Tightly controlled existence living under the ever-present gaze of Big Brother, refused basic freedoms, and even their sub-poverty wages were withheld. Not like it mattered because, as you said, in the end they were just deported and didn't get anything.
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May 14, 2014 15:14
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I saw some anime and I so fell in love with Japanese culture and people.
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May 14, 2014 15:26
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Zo posted:I don't know. I'm as anti-Abe as they get and I just don't see the whole collective self-defense thing to be a huge deal, especially from the sounds of it they're not going for a complete lift on the ban. Normal people are still incredibly anti-war as a whole according to latest polls. Even the US executive branch, not known for its deep respect for constitutionalism, pretends that it just has its own opinions about what is legal and wouldn't be crazy enough to announce that it's going to go ahead and unilaterally alter the official meaning of the US constitution. mystes fucked around with this message at 16:17 on May 14, 2014 |
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May 14, 2014 16:12
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Madd0g11 posted:I saw some anime and I so fell in love with Japanese culture and people. I'm truly sorry you had such a rotten time here and feel the need to bring it up all the time.
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May 15, 2014 07:38
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He's still here mang, and having the time of his life.
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May 15, 2014 09:51
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Based on what I know of Japanese xenophobia and bigotry in general, I guess I don't see how constitutional pacifism is anything more than a technicality. If Japan wanted to go to war that clause would not stop it.
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May 15, 2014 10:10
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double post, sorry
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May 15, 2014 10:16
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icantfindaname posted:Based on what I know of Japanese xenophobia and bigotry in general, I guess I don't see how constitutional pacifism is anything more than a technicality. If Japan wanted to go to war that clause would not stop it. Please, feel free to expand upon this...
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May 15, 2014 10:41
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icantfindaname posted:Based on what I know of Japanese xenophobia and bigotry in general, I guess I don't see how constitutional pacifism is anything more than a technicality. If Japan wanted to go to war that clause would not stop it. Tell us more about "Japanese xenophobia and bigotry"
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May 15, 2014 11:33
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We just got through a painful couple pages about how useless unsubstantiated claims and personal anecdotes are, by the way.
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May 15, 2014 17:23
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Any goons in or around elementary education in Japan able to answer a question for me. My niece in Japan (wifes family) has always seemed to have some serious anxiety issues related to school, and has been in and out over the years. She is pretty distant, but it almost sounds like early onset Hikiomori and this has been going on since she started school. I have heard that the school councilors are dealing with it, but how they are dealing with it seems to boil down to, do nothing and hope she gets better on her own. However at this point (she is 12), I think she has only attended about half the school that she would normally have at this point. It really seems like there is some serious mental illness occuring (the mother may also be suffering) and the school councilors seem to be waving away any concerns and I am fairly sure a doctor has never been consulted. I don't have any direct experience, but I cannot imagine a situation in North America/Europe where a kid just stops attending school for long periods of time without various government agencies getting increasingly upset about it. She likely would have been apprehended and placed in foster care years ago in Canada. My wife seems fairly laisse-faire about it, but I just cannot wrap my head around it. Is this normal behaviour for schools and child services in Japan? 
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May 15, 2014 21:37
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Yep. You don't even have to show up to school at all to pass, move on to the next grade, or graduate, so basically as long as the student isn't being forced to not attend school then it's not an issue - if they just decide "hey I don't want to come to school today/this week/month/ever" then it's no big deal, the staff just go "welp they're taking a break!", and this situation can last almost indefinitely, for years even - Ask me about having multiple students go from first to second year of high school without attending a single class! The first time I saw one kid was a year and a half after he "enrolled", in the middle of his second year. And then when he did finally start attending class, he either slept through most of mine (English, world history, human rights) or straight up didn't attend class and just went and napped in the nurse's office. He graduated, too, and that's not the only student I've had pull stuff like this. Anyways back to your niece's situation, going "lalala that problem doesn't exist if we ignore it it will go away" is sadly all too common an occurrence here, especially where mental health may be concerned. Sheep fucked around with this message at 22:43 on May 15, 2014 |
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May 15, 2014 22:39
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ocrumsprug posted:
You don't have much of an imagination. People care way less than you think.
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May 15, 2014 23:09
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LimburgLimbo posted:You don't have much of an imagination. People care way less than you think. Teachers would have a legal obligation to notify the authorities in these situations in Canada.
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May 16, 2014 00:21
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ocrumsprug posted:school At the last school I was at, a Junior high, there was a girl who came to school for 3/4 of the first year. Second year 1/2. And third year maybe only the 1st day. She graduated from the school in her own special ceremony where it was just her. The first years had 3-4 kids of the same type. 1 kid only came for the entrance ceremony on the first day and didn't come any more during the year. The others were there in different capacities. Big schools tend to have "councilor's room" and a lot of these kids would come to school off and on and sit in the room there all day. Second years had maybe 5-6 kids that were of similar behavior. This school had a total student population of about 300. So that just gives you an idea. Truancy, is only an issue in Japan when the student is avoiding school without a parent's consent. If the parent calls in and says "they aren't coming because of X" then the school has little recourse. The law may say one thing, but the education system is so rigid in Japan that no one dares to hold back a kid because they feel that maintaining the same age range for all students is important. As to child services. As with many places, child services lack teeth and the teachers don't want to rock the boat in most cases. I've seen a few girls who are anorexic or close to malnourished (I could see the bones of their arms, legs, and very sharp shoulder blades outlined in their gym clothes.) but never heard anything done about it.
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May 16, 2014 00:29
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It's surprising the accommodation (or lack of intervention?) for students with social issues. I have a girl who puts her hair over her face like Cousin It at all times + wears a face mask, and teachers just seem to shrug and ignore it. My (high) schools have school councilors, but I'm pretty sure they're only there certain days of the week. I did one of my undergrad degrees in Psych and while there was a not insignificant amount of research and stuff coming out of Japan (way more so than any other Asian country, at least), from my limited impression it seems like they lag behind in diagnosing and treatment. There also seems to be a lot more (again, this is just anecdotal from my own experience) teachers who take mental health leave. Then again, I assume most teachers back home wouldn't even have the option to do it, but I know of several cases here of teachers who have taken what amounts to multiple years off due to stress, etc. Can't say I blame them, with that workload and the lack of consequences available for lovely students.
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May 16, 2014 00:51
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Pompous Rhombus posted:It's surprising the accommodation (or lack of intervention?) for students with social issues. I have a girl who puts her hair over her face like Cousin It at all times + wears a face mask, and teachers just seem to shrug and ignore it. My (high) schools have school councilors, but I'm pretty sure they're only there certain days of the week. I can't find the picture at the moment, but there was a front page article in Nishi Nippon Shinbun about two years ago that stated that some absurdly high percentage (80-90%) of health-related teacher leave (病休) was specifically mental health or stress related. It was the Saga edition of the paper as well, so especially relevant to you!
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May 16, 2014 12:13
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Can any of you think of a particularly memorable moment of Japanese debate, in the Diet or elsewhere? Something along the lines of "You had an option" or "Please proceed." I know that the format is different but surely someone's gotten in a good jab at some point.
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May 16, 2014 13:40
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Pompous Rhombus posted:I did one of my undergrad degrees in Psych and while there was a not insignificant amount of research and stuff coming out of Japan (way more so than any other Asian country, at least), from my limited impression it seems like they lag behind in diagnosing and treatment. Medicine (in general) is one of the areas where there's still a fairly sharp East/West divide - doctors in the west of the country still tend to be very much into folk remedies, Chinese medicine, etc but in the east of the country they are more into Western medicine - and that can be seen in mental health treatment too, both drug regimes and general patient care/support.
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May 16, 2014 13:55
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Arbite posted:Can any of you think of a particularly memorable moment of Japanese debate, in the Diet or elsewhere? Something along the lines of "You had an option" or "Please proceed." http://youtube.com/watch?v=D4KROpdUkrM
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May 16, 2014 13:56
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Way ahead of you there, boyo.  Use tab on my earlier post.Anything else?
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May 16, 2014 14:30
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Arbite posted:Way ahead of you there, boyo. The poo poo with the ANPO passage is pretty epic. They literally had to carry the Speaker to his podium and protect him so he could open the Diet in order to ratify the treaty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggLGEFr-ZPk The good part starts around 3 minutes.
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May 16, 2014 16:07
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How is FDR perceived in Japan today?
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Jun 26, 2014 05:24
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Koramei posted:How is FDR perceived in Japan today? Better than Truman I would imagine.
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